List of 1950-1999 rail accidents

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Criteria for accidents to be included in this list is being discussed at
Talk:List of rail accidents/Criteria for inclusion.
Please feel free to contribute to the discussion.

List of rail accidents from 1950 to 1999.

For historic accidents before 1950, see List of pre-1950 rail accidents.

For accidents from 2000 to the present, see List of rail accidents.


Notable historic train accidents, 1950-1999
1950s: 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960s: 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s: 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s: 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s: 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
See alsoExternal linksReferences

  • Flag of United States September 5, 1956 – near Robinson, New Mexico, United States: Two Santa Fe express passenger trains collide when a railroad worker prematurely throws a switch directly in front of one of the trains. 20 railroad employees, mostly dining car personnel, are killed.[4]

  • Flag of Finland March 15, 1957 – near Kuurila, Finland: An overnight passenger train collides head-on with an express train. 26 are killed and 60 injured in Finland's worst peace-time train crash.
  • Flag of Pakistan September 29, 1957Montgomery, Pakistan: An express train crashes into an oil train. 250 killed.
  • Flag of England December 6, 1957Lewisham rail crash, England: A steam train passes a red signal in the fog and ploughs into the back of an electric train. The crash also destroys a support column of a railway bridge, causing parts of the bridge to collapse onto the wreck. 90 people are killed.

  • Flag of Germany September, 1958Drachenfels Railway, Königswinter, Germany: A rack railway train derails, killing 17.
  • Flag of United States September 15, 1958 – Newark Bay, New Jersey, United States: A Central Railroad of New Jersey morning commuter train blows through stop signals, derails, then slides out the open drawspan. Both diesels and first two coaches plunge into Newark Bay and sink immediately, 48 drown. A third coach hangs precariously out the drawbridge for two hours, snagged by its rear truck before it, too, topples into the water. As the whole operating crew was killed, no absolute determination for the accident was reached, but a medical emergency in the cab was theorized.
The aftermath of a collision between a CB&Q passenger train and a C&S freight train.
The aftermath of a collision between a CB&Q passenger train and a C&S freight train.

  • Flag of United States December 14, 1961 – Auburn, Colorado, United States: An Union Pacific passenger train in route to Denver collides with a school bus carrying 36 children bound for Delta and Arlington elementary schools, Meeker Junior High, and Greeley High. 20 of the children were killed, 16 children and the driver survived.[6]

  • Flag of Sri Lanka March 18, 1964 – Mirigama train crash, Sri Lanka: A Sri Lankan commuter train derails at high speed, killing over 60 people. The survivors are rescued by Boy Scouts.[8]

  • Flag of German Democratic Republic July 6, 1967 – Langenweddingen rail crash, Langenweddingen, East Germany near Magdeburg: Because of an overstretched cable preventing the proper operation of a level crossing's barriers, a local train collides with lorry carrying 15,000 litres of light petrol and ignites. 94 killed, of which 44 are children on a holiday trip.
  • Flag of Netherlands August 25, 1967Beesd, Netherlands: The driver and conductor (who in those days was supposed to ride together with the driver in the front cabin) are killed and 7 passengers of a passenger train are injured at 5:55 in the morning, when a cargo train crashes head-on into the first passenger train of that day. The driver of the cargo train (who was injured but survived the crash) missed a red signal, because of dense fog.[9]

  • Flag of Argentina February 1, 1970 – Benavidez, Argentina: An intercity train crashes into a local train that had stopped because of mechanical failures. 236 killed.
  • Flag of Norway June 1970Oslo, Norway: A train from Skien collides with a shunting locomotive at Lysaker. 30 injured.
  • Flag of United States May 20, 1970 - New York City, NY A rerouted Brooklyn-bound GG train on the express track crosses over a switch near Roosevelt Avenue–Jackson Heights station, slamming into another train on the local track, which was taken out of service for a brake problem earlier. The out of service train on the local track was being operated from the third car while the conductor was in the first car, relaying instructions to the motorman via. a flashlight. 2 killed, 77 injured
  • Flag of United States June 21, 1970Crescent City, Illinois, United States: Toledo, Peoria and Western Railroad Company's Train No. 20 derails in downtown Crescent City; propane tank car ruptures and explosions cause fires that destroy the city center. No fatalities.

  • Flag of Germany February 9, 1971Aitrang, Germany: The TEE 56 »Bavaria«, a SBB RAm TEE DMU, heading from Munich to Zurich, derails while passing a curve shortly after Aitrang station. The maximum speed in the curve is 80 km/h, however the train passes the curve at 130 km/h due to frozen water in the air brake. Shortly after the TEE has derailed, a railbus hits the wreckage, coming from the opposite direction. 28 die, 42 are injured.
  • Flag of Germany May 27, 1971Radevormwald, Germany: Dahlerau train disaster - a railbus and a freight train collide on the single track line Wuppertal-Radevormwald, just short of the station Dahlerau. The railbus was a special service carrying schoolchildren of a Radevormwald school. The local dispatcher claims to have signalled a red light to the freight train, whilst the freight train engineer claims to have seen a green one. Ultimately, the case cannot be resolved as the dispatcher is killed in a car accident before the legal hearings start. 41 die, 25 are injured. Worst rail accident in West Germany during Deutsche Bundesbahn times. The accident leads to the phasing out of the Nachtbefehlsstab, and presses the DB to introduce radio communications on branch lines.
  • Flag of Germany July 21, 1971 – Rheinweiler, Germany: A fast train from Basel to Copenhagen passes a 75 km/h curve at about 140 km/h and derails, destroying a single family home; 23 dead, 121 injured. The suspected reason for the accident was a technical failure in the Class 103 engine's automatic cruise control mechanism, leading to the engine gaining too much speed. The cruise control was consequently disabled after the accident.

The Italicus Express attack
The Italicus Express attack

The sleeping car involved in the Taunton train fire.
The sleeping car involved in the Taunton train fire.

  • Flag of Mexico February 20, 1983 – A train traveling from Nogales, Sonora, Mexico to Guadalajara is rammed in the rear by a freight train near Guaymas, killing at least 56 and injuring 78.
  • Flag of Germany May 27, 1983Frechen, Germany: The Oostende-Wien-Express night train derails due to trackbed damages. The engine hits a bridge and the first car jackknifes into the wreckage. Seven are killed, 23 injured.
  • Flag of Republic of Ireland August 21, 1983 – Cherryville Junction, County Kildare, Ireland: crash occurred when a train, which had run out of fuel and stopped on the tracks at Cherryville junction in Co. Kildare, was hit by a second train from the rear. 7 people were killed and 55 were injured. The official investigation found several organisational factors to have been substantial causes of the crash. These included: CIE rules that allowed drivers to proceed past red signals in certain circumstances; ambiguity of responsibility between the driver and the guard; and inadequate re-fuelling procedures.[14]

  • Flag of Yugoslavia July 14, 1984Divača, Slovenia, Yugoslavia: A freight train plows into the rear of a crowded passenger train, killing 31 and injuring 33.
  • Flag of Hong Kong November 25, 1984Hong Kong: A train derailed between Sheung Shui and Fanling station on the KCR East Rail. The incident occurred when the driver, preparing to back the train up to Sheung Shui station, failed to follow a speed/stop signal while the train was exceeding the speed limit. The train crashed into a boulder/buffer with the first 2 cars piling on top of each other. The degree of which they were damaged was so extensive that the cars never returned to service. Luckily, the passengers were unloaded prior to the crash while the driver sustained only minor injuries. However, the accident caused train services to suspend for the rest of the day and the incident spurred a series of public outcries concerning railway safety.
  • Flag of England December 11, 1984Wembley, London: A passenger train collided with a freight train at Wembley Central, killing 3 injuring 60.
  • Flag of Italy December 23, 1984Italy: The Rapido 904 from Naples to Milan named the "Christmas train" explodes in the longest Italian tunnel of San Benedetto Val di Sambro. An alliance formed between Mafia groups "What ours" and the Neapolitan Racket was behind the massacre on Express 904. In that tunnel there remained the bodies of 15 people, and hundreds were seriously injured, some dying many years later.

  • Flag of Canada February 8, 1986Hinton train collision, Dalehurst, Alberta, Canada: 23 lives lost when VIA Rail passenger train and CN freight train collide head-on. This led to the adoption of stricter crew scheduling practice and a complete rewrite of the operating rules.
  • Flag of India March 10, 1986 – Khagaria rail disaster, over 50 people are killed in a collision in Bihar.
  • Flag of India August 6, 1986 – Palamau rail disaster, 52 people drown when a train falls into a deep ditch after a collision.

  • Flag of United States January 4, 1987Chase, Maryland rail wreck, Chase, Maryland, United States: The Amtrak Colonial collides with a set of Conrail freight locomotives that had missed a stop signal and were fouling the Northeast Corridor mainline at Gunpow Interlocking. The northbound passenger consist derails, killing 16 passengers, the lounge car attendant, and the Amtrak engineer. The freight crew had been smoking marijuana; this notorious accident caused the US railroad industry to tighten up drug use detection among operational personnel.
  • Flag of India July 8, 1987 - Machieral rail disaster, 53 people killed in the derailment of a train in Andhra Pradesh.
  • Flag of Sweden November 16, 1987Lerum, near Gothenburg, Sweden: Two passenger trains collide at a station. 9 killed, 140 injured.

The investigation's report on the Clapham Junction rail crash.
The investigation's report on the Clapham Junction rail crash.

Video cover of the Cajon Pass derailment.
Video cover of the Cajon Pass derailment.

  • Flag of England January 8, 1991London, England: A passenger train hits the buffers at Cannon Street Station. 1 person killed. 542 persons injured.
  • Flag of Japan April, 1991Shigaraki train disaster, Shigaraki, Shiga, Japan: 42 people were killed.
  • Flag of United States July 31, 1991Lugoff, South Carolina, United States: The Amtrak Silver Star derails the rear portion of its consist on the former Seaboard Air Line of the CSXT Railroad when a faulty switch moves as the train passes over it, directing a coach into a hopper car standing on a siding, and derailing the following equipment. Eight passengers die and 76 are injured.
  • Flag of United States August 28, 1991New York, New York: Five people are killed and more than 200 injured when a Lexington local train derails going over a switch just north of Union Square. Two subway cars split open as they strike the steel tunnel support beams. The uninjured motorman, whom passengers report had been handling the train erratically, flees the scene and is arrested later, testing out as legally drunk. This accident, coupled with the Amtrak Colonial wreck at Chase, Maryland on January 4, 1987, is instrumental in driving new federal rules for engineer certification and toxicology.
  • Flag of France October, 1991Melun, France. A freight train overruns a closed signal, and fouls the path of the Nice-Paris night train. 16 people are killed. The accident was caused by a heart attack suffered by the freight train engineer. The deadman mechanism worked perfectly, but it was too late to stop the train in time. This led to the adoption of the KVB automatic train control system which will detect improper train handling.

  • Flag of Sweden